Imagine seeing a lobster crawl across your lunch plate, waves crashing against your wine glass and schools of fish swimming beneath your plate as you dine. It’s an unforgettable experience that would last a lifetime and that was exactly the brief to Encore Event Technologies. Encore Event Technologies partnered with the team at Pullman Reef Hotel Casino Cairns to host an exclusive VIP famil for 12 clients. Guests came from across Australia to experience the stunning tropical Cairns region and the Pullman’s premier conference and event offerings. As the long-standing in-house event services partner, Encore delivered a complete event staging solution from concept to execution. The reef-inspired concept was developed around the viral sensation ‘Le Petite Chef’ – a unique dining experience that uses projection mapping to turn the table into a canvas for story telling. The experience of the Encore team ensured the activation was executed seamlessly. We overcame several obstacles to ensure the table projection mapping was mapped with pixel perfect precision and feasible within the venue’s parameters. The accuracy and precision of the table projection mapping left guests speechless; in wonder at the level of detail the projection achieved, feeling as though they were under the sea. Even the crockery was included as part of the execution, with sea life crawling over the guests’ plates while waves rolled over the table. To ensure a polished sensory experience, the visual elements of the project were matched with immersive audio effects and a sumptuous locally-sourced menu. The combination was incredibly impactful, with guests requesting the content be replayed four times over to absorb all of it. Louise Matthews, Director of Sales, Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, was ecstatic at the response, “The Encore team really enabled us to create an event with maximum impact within a tight timeframe. We couldn’t have asked for a better result.” The event showcased the creative design and technical capabilities offered to events hosted at Pullman Reef Hotel Casino Cairns. If you are interested in hosting a similar experience or want to find out more about our event production services at Pullman Reef Hotel Cairns get in touch with our team today by sending an online enquiry or calling 1800 209 099. -- ... Read More

THE POWER OF ENGAGING ALL FIVE SENSES Our experience of the world involves a number of senses - sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. These senses are not isolated from one another. In fact, awareness of our surrounding environment is the result of all five senses working together. Over the years, countless studies have proven sensory stimulation plays a large part in memory formulation and association. For years retailers have embraced these findings and implemented sensory experiences into their marketing in an attempt to boost sales, reinforce branding and improve the overall customer experience. Similarly with event technology, we’re seeing the impact of consumer marketing trends act as the driving force behind the event experience. THE POWER OF ENGAGING ALL FIVE SENSES Our experience of the world involves a number of senses - sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. These senses are not isolated from one another. In fact, awareness of our surrounding environment is the result of all five senses working together. Over the years, countless studies have proven sensory stimulation plays a large part in memory formulation and association. For years retailers have embraced these findings and implemented sensory experiences into their marketing in an attempt to boost sales, reinforce branding and improve the overall customer experience. Similarly with event technology, we’re seeing the impact of consumer marketing trends act as the driving force behind the event experience. Martin Lindstrom, a well-known author and brand consultant, found that brand impact increased by 30% when more than one sense is engaged and by a whopping 70% when three senses are integrated into the brand message. Whilst the power of engaging the five senses is commonly known by event managers, studies reveal putting the theory into practice is lacking. A recent survey by London & Partners and CWT Meetings & Events found that 78% of event professionals believe that events appealing to multiple senses deliver a more memorable and creative experience for delegates and audiences. However only 27% of those surveyed believed that the five senses are being effectively stimulated at events. To fully understand how event planners can harness the senses to create more memorable experiences, we have gathered recent examples to demonstrate how brands are embracing the power of smell, taste, touch, sight and sound to create indelible experiences in immersive environments. Want to download a copy of this guide instead? We've produced a free Event Insights paper so you can keep this with you. DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY Here’s how you can harness the power of the 5 senses to captivate your attendees. SEEING IS BELIEVING Nothing captures attention more effectively than beautiful visuals. Design a truly stunning event environment by using dynamic stage design brought to life via captivating motion graphics, stunning lighting, precision projection, and immersive styling. An event which greatly captures the attention of the audience via their sight makes the event memorable by enhancing the ability of the audience to recollect specific moments. Often, this is because those things which they see are simply spectacular or evoke strong emotions in them that last. An obvious example is VIVID Sydney which features mesmerising outdoor lighting sculptures and installations. Below are a number of examples about how you can use visual elements and technology to stimulate the sense of sight. 1. Stage Design Your stage is more than a platform, it’s an event feature. Stage set design can be the difference between a good event and a great one. Create unforgettable event experiences by designing a stage that moves beyond the presentation, speaker or performance - and becomes a feature in itself. Create shapes to project on to using Digital Banners and Widescreens Stage design with hexagonal panels Styling the set with 2D & 3D Scenic Panels Create a cinematic experience with a Mega Curved Screens 2. Projection Mapping Harness the power of cutting edge projection mapping techniques to create visual illusions that will stay in your participants’ memory long after your event is over. Thanks to advances in technology, projection mapping has many more uses and has become much more affordable. It’s no longer reserved for huge Disney-sized budgets but is within the reach of a much more budget conscious venue or event manager. Projection Mapping for Stage Design Inspired by the AHA NSW’s geometric logo elements, we built a custom stage design comprised of a 20x5m hard projection set interspersed with coloured acrylic panels. We brought this set to life using state-of-the-art projection mapping to create a digital backdrop for the opening video sequence and awards content. The multimedia was designed over 125 hrs and the result was a dynamic, impactful awards backdrop used for content delivery. Feature Projection Mapping A once-in-a-lifetime dining experience for 100 VIPs the Dom Pérignon Lumiere Dinner, hosted by Merivale at the ivy in Sydney. Using twelve 16k projectors, table cloths and plate settings were brought to life with creative custom animations projection mapped to align perfectly between cutlery and plate settings. Each course was punctuated by a different light show, projected onto the tables. Some featured tasting notes of the wines being served or historical details about the house of Dom Pérignon. 3. Motion Graphic Content Event planners have unlimited possibilities in content creation thanks to advances in animation and motion graphic technology. Motion graphics and animation is one of the biggest trend in event technology. After all, if a picture says a thousand words, then a video says a million more. It illustrates the core concepts of your brand message and tells your story in a way that captivates and entices audiences. A video engages your audience, gives a personal insight into the business and in turn generates leads. Designing your stage set with motion content videos in mind will ensure your on-screen content is delivered with maximum impact. In general, wide screen formats suit this content best such as creating stunning vistas projected content onto mega wide curved screens. This creates a cinematic like experience which can transport your guests to wherever you’re creating in the video. The Encore Event Technologies Melbourne team embarked on a path to take members of the audience on a journey from the alien planet to our own, through digital mediums, projection, pyrotechnics, actors and lighting. This event required the collaboration between the client's 3D animation content with our 3D projection design, 3D mapping and reform. 4. Lighting Great lighting and special lighting effects are the foundations for appealing to the sense of sight. It is so much more than just putting a spotlight on your performer or a few stage lights here and there. Lighting creates ambience, displays video content and can be used to highlight architectural elements or styling pieces to build a visual experience that will leave your guests in awe. You can also use lighting to direct your guests’ attention to events going on within a show, or to grab their attention on speakers or items you need to reveal. LED Lights LEDs or Light Emitting Diodes are around ten times more efficient than their tungsten equivalent. That means ten times less electricity to produce the same level of brightness. They can last hundreds of hours longer, emit less heat and are cheaper to manufacture and replace. Using R a combination of red, green, blue and white light emitting LEDs, you can electronically control your mix to create any desired colour. Before this technology you would have to put a coloured gel in front of light and if you wanted several colours throughout a show you needed to set up and rig several fixtures each with an appropriate gel. LED lights allow you to play with the rainbow. Uplighting Uplighting is a great way to create an atmosphere at your event. Rooms can look bland if you do not use perimeter lighting. This is especially important for a plain venue, empty ballroom or conference centre where you may need to build ambience with more lighting and decor. It’s a great way to tie in a brand or theme colour and create an impact for your guests entering the room. Pin Lighting Fixed or moving Pin lighting is an excellent way to direct attention to certain parts of your event. Using a spotlight creates a dramatic effect that can transform centrepieces, decor elements and table settings into incredible pieces of art. Not only do pin lights add drama to your event lighting, but they also provide separation that is often needed between dark table linens and centrepieces allowing the centrepieces to pop and stand out. Pin lighting will make your event design a more dynamic visual experience. Branded lighting: Gobos The name is basically short for ‘Goes Between’ or ‘Goes Before Optics’. Gobos are great for communicating your brand or event message in an eye-catching way. Depending on their design they can also be used to help theme an event. Using a branded gobo, the Adelaide Crows’ logo and their tagline ‘We Fly As One’, was projected across iconic Adelaide buildings, the Adelaide Oval and it's surrounding footpath and even trees. Lighting that moves: Kinetic lighting Event lighting doesn't always have to be fixed. Our Melbourne team developed a unique moving lighting installation for the 2015 Million Dollar Lunch fundraising event. The glowing Yo-Yo LED balls moved on a vertical axis via motorised controllers programmed via our primary control system from our GrandMA desk to align the internal LED’s with a sequencing colour changing that created a kinetic chandelier piece unlike anything else. 5. Immersive Styling With the ever increasing role technology plays in the way events are brought to life, over the last few years we have been moving away from 2D cut-out props and conventional sit down dinners in favour of interactive, dynamic and content-based theming. These are called 'Immersive Events’ that move beyond theming to using technology in designing a cohesive look across all event elements. 12 Days of Christmas themed Corporate Christmas Party Every event element was themed strategically in line with representing one of the 12 Days of Christmas. From the ceiling projections, to on screen content, the menu and right down to the table centrepieces. Imagine your event room becoming a live countdown to Christmas, where every 15 minutes the entire room transforms to bring to life the day’s theme. Capital S.M.A.R.T. conference Encore Event Technologies worked with Capital S.M.A.R.T to bring their ‘007 Bond’ theme to life. This theme was integrated throughout every aspect and acted as the creative ‘glue’ tying everything together in one cohesive message across the multi-venue event. “We are not thinking beings that feel; we are feeling beings that think.” (Antonio Domasio, Professor of Neuroscience, University of California) MAKE SOME NOISE Create sound scapes that evoke powerful memories. Whether you’re creating a gala atmosphere, delivering a professional conference or revving up the crowd, clear and well-balanced sound is vital. The primacy importance of sound in everyday life is obvious to everyone, yet the process of creating an aural presence at an event with excellent results is not widely understood outside of technical circles. It may not have the visual spectacular presence of a huge projection screen or complicated lighting show but there is a lot going on that cannot be seen – but is definitely heard. Generate the emotions you want your audience to feel at specific times during an event by strategically planning your music A recent report by BrainStrength SystemsTM reported on the London Convention Bureau that well-chosen entrance music can set the right mood for the meeting. During brainstorming or problem-solving sessions, light classical music speeds up thought, while music related to the conference topic can also be used to introduce activities or illustrate key points, creating immediate recognition and adding to the meaning of the event. Nothing is more pleasant than having the right kind of sounds or music at an event. You want to create the perfect mood for your attendees – not irritate them, make them yell or struggle to hear. Whether it’s creating an atmosphere, delivering a polished onstage interview, or a professional multimedia presentation, perfectly balanced audio is vital for a successful event. "Our five senses act as biological learning portals, with all information and stimuli entering our brains through those doors. So the more of the brain that’s activated, the more easily learning occurs and the more likely we are to retain what we learned. Human brains crave unique multi-sensory experiences." (London & Partners - Official London Convention Bureau) Make Q&A Fun! CatchBox is Encore Event Technologies fun, soft throw-able microphone - our latest audio product available. Make your next conference, presentation, large meeting or lecture more fun and engaging with our microphone specifically designed to increase audience participation. TO TOUCH IS TO CONNECT The skin is the body’s largest organ and the source of our vital sense of touch – so make sure you use it in your events. Touching something creates a real connection. In an event, your audience will definitely see and listen to many different things, however, these may not be remembered in entirety. Let them touch something and it is a different story. When people use their hands, their sense of touch is engaged and they tend to remember what they touch (and see in the process) more clearly. Unknowingly, your brand/corporate image becomes strengthened. And that’s where our latest interactive technology comes in. First made available in smartphones, the trend for ultra-responsive surfaces has accelerated and can now be incorporated into events. Nothing gets your audience more involved than engagement via polling, interactive presentations and screens, event apps and gesture control and of course their personal mobiles. Of course, there are many ways you can introduce a sense of touch, such as tactile styling elements, textured decorative panels, interactive technologies or even physical activities. Think about the tactile aspects of the props, decor, furniture and other physical objects at your event and how they will make it memorable. Encore Event Technologies offer services that allow for interaction during your exhibition or event like touch screens and Touch Kiosk technology. You can use these touch screens for presentations or quizzes, encouraging your guests to participate and get actively involved. The sense of touch is particularly important for attendees who are Kinesthetic learners - who actually need to physically do or touch the activity to learn it. From textural styling elements to the latest in interactive technology - there are a myriad of ways to engage your attendees' sense of touch at events. Styling There are many ways styling services can introduce a sense of touch, such as tactile elements, fabrics or textured decorative panels. Think about the tactile aspects of the props, decor, furniture and other physical objects at your event and how they will make it memorable. Live Audience Polling Event Poll allows you to ask attendee’s their opinion, get live feedback on hot topics and see everyone connecting with the content. Say goodbye to traditional event data and hello to the new frontier of data mining – event insights in real time. Even those who do not have a smart phone can join in via SMS, so audience members find it almost impossible not to participate. Interactive Presentations Gone are the days of PowerPoint. With Inteli-Touch you can turn a flat presentation into a dynamic microsite with full interactivity. The cutting-edge presentation software allows you to access everything you need for your presentation with the touch of the screen. Event Apps Event apps are ideal for the busy event planner. They allows you to swiftly upload and communicate everything from agendas, seating charts, speaker bios, news, document downloads, to sponsorship information and much more. Say goodbye to endless print-outs and hello to Cumulus: your event in the palm of your hand. Encore Event Technologies event app is free for those using our events services. Event apps make it simple and convenient for event organisers to communicate quickly with attendees and for attendees to access important information anywhere, at anytime. Touch Kiosk was used to engage spectators in Hobart for the Sydney to Hobart yacht Race. The interactive screen displayed trivia to promote tourism to the area. Motion gesture control used to reveal the 'Colour of the Year' for the Asian Paints Conference SERVE UP A TASTY EXPERIENCE Food is an extremely important part of a meeting or event. After all, who does not crave delicious food? Menus bring to life an organiser's theme through the imaginative presentation of dishes, smells and ingredients. Matching the menu to your message or theme could be the simplest yet most impactful way to enhance your event. However, it is often overlooked in the event planning phase as other considerations are prioritised. We all remember a really fantastic meal, or a really terrible one. The food you present can be just as much a part of your event theme as all the other elements. Think modern Australian for an international sales incentive; French delicacies for a burlesque theme; ribs and burgers are perfect for a taste of the Wild West and noodles and Asian delights for a Chinese New Year theme. More practically, many attendees have a dietary preference, and making sure they are well taken care of shows you really care. Attendees remember that. Pop-art inspired desserts for a Vintage Super Hero theme Traditional Australian tucker for an Australian themed incentive Colourful sweets and canapés served for a Mad Hatters Tea Party SHOW AND SMELL Smell, another sense which often takes a backseat to sight and sound during event planning, can be an extremely powerful tool in making your event experience more memorable to your audience. It has been found that odour-evoked autobiographical memory describes the vivid emotional memories often triggered by various scents because scents are much more effective as reminders of our experiences compared with other senses like sight or sound. In fact, the power of scents is precisely the basis behind aromatherapy’s effectiveness in inducing deep physical and emotional responses. So, try scenting conference sessions, to trigger positive emotions in participants. Smell is the only sense that actually has a direct connection to our body’s limbic system, which is the area of the brain that processes memories and emotions, because it gets routed through our olfactory bulbs. Moreover, our bodies contain much more smell receptors (at least 1,000) compared with those for other senses like sight (four). Aromatic flowers, foliage or even spices are simple ways in which you can introduce scents to your event. "A brand with a scented logo has a 65% chance of being remembered by a customer after a year, while an unscented brand has a 50%chance of being forgotten within the first 3 months." - Sense of Smell Institute, reported on Scent Australia Additionally, scented events are more dynamic and enjoyable than unscented ones because ambient scenting improves guest experience, ambiance and improves memory recall of your special event. Consider incorporating a fragrance into your next event with an ambient event scenting solutions as well as our other scented solutions such as scented printing - why not scent invitations, menus or other printed materials? Using scent as a form of marketing during an event offers numerous benefits to customers and the audience, including the ability to enhance the theme you are trying to portray in your event by evoking deep emotional instincts and responses, decreasing their stress levels and helping to raise their mental performance and perceived impression of your corporate brand. Above all, much research has recognised scent’s ability to be an effective branding channel even at subtle levels. This means that if there are two companies with similar profiles hosting similar events, the one which used scent during the event would be more easily remembered and distinguished compared to the other. Ideas for using scent: Native Australian flora and foliage for the Australian themed incentive Custom oil diffusers created for hotels to create their signature scent Spices / cinnamon fragrance dispensers for a Arabian Nights themed show The scent of pine and wood for an enchanted forest Delicious spices for Bollywood or the smell of salty sea air for a beach theme Brands that use scent The Body Shop sprayed strawberry essence on the sidewalk leading up to their first shop in order to attract the public’s attention. - Scent Australia Abercrombie & Fitch made a strong impact by diffusing a Signature Scent. Returning customers can elicit a number of fond memories from past shopping experiences there, which allows the company to draw a lot more traffic to their stores. - Scent Australia IT MAKES SENSE As humans, we have been given the five senses that enable us to experience the world in a myriad of ways. It’s really up to you as an event planner to decide how you want to take your attendees on a journey. It’s by appealing to the full range of feelings and senses of events participants, that you can greatly increase the chances of them learning what you want them to learn and remembering what they have learned. Through providing your participants with fully immersive experiences, incorporating sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, the messages conveyed to them at conferences, product launches, product presentations and so on become much more memorable. Encore Event Technologies is a leading event services provider who can help bring these sensory stimulating ideas to life. With over 35 years experience delivering extraordinary experiences we have the ideas, technology and talent to make your event vision a reality. Therefore it makes sense to speak to the experts when planning your next event. Get in touch with Encore Event Technologies today by sending an online enquiry or by calling 1800 209 099. Get a copy of this guide so you can take it with you. DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY (You'll be redirected to our Event Insights page to download your free copy) ... Read More

Everyone in events is familiar with large-scale projection mapping; on buildings, on stage, and at activations. But there’s almost limitless potential to tell your story on a much more personal scale. Sharing a meal is one of the most intimate human social rituals, and projection mapping onto the dinner table is emerging as a fantastic way to communicate, delight, and impress your audience. At Encore Event Technologies, we’ve been teaming up our amazing digital artists with our high-definition projectors and tech crew to create breathtaking, Insta-worthy, wildly shareable content that transforms any meal into a multimedia event. Projection Mapping for Personalisation For Dom Pérignon, we took the long and storied history of the company and used its immediately identifiable visuals to completely brand a dinner for 100 VIPs at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom. The dining table became a canvas for telling the Dom Pérignon brand story with customised animated content projected onto it. Personalised name cards in the shape of the Dom Pérignon logo were projected onto place settings, followed by custom graphics perfectly aligned with crockery, cutlery, and glassware. Each course had its own projected content, complementing the menu and highlighting the decadence of Dom Pérignon Champagne. Projection mapping was a visually striking way to intertwine the brand's rich history with the intimate dining experience and left guests wanting more! Projection Mapping for Branding At the National Convention Centre Canberra, we used the colours and images associated with the annual Enlighten Festival of outdoor art, illumination, and culture to personalise a lunch for 40 special guests, selling Canberra as a destination for world-class business events. Local food and wine were complemented by animations, with each dinner plate individually lit for impact. Guests’ names were projected onto their seats, offering a unique personal touch and making networking easy. The autumnal colours of Canberra and signature looks of client InterContinental Hotels Group were all incorporated to the projection mapped content to take event branding to the next level. Projection Mapping for Story Telling To help global hotel giant The Accor Group tell their story, we staged a one-off special event at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino, Cairns, for 10 influential clients. We partnered with Belgian creative geniuses Skull Mapping to license their viral sensation ‘Le Petit Chef’ , and built a reef theme in a function room using lighting and set elements, highlighting the natural beauty of the region. Guests were then utterly stunned when their ‘tablecloth’ turned into one of Le Petit Chef’s animated adventures. The VIPs were so impressed, they asked to see the animation a further four times! Table projection is still such a fresh technique that most guests (and event producers!) are still to experience it live. It’s an utterly entrancing spectacle that has everyone whipping out their devices and saturating social media with images and video. It has an amazing power to communicate your brand, personalise an event to a micro level, and tell any story; the creators of Le Petit Chef are even using it for two-hour dinner shows that trace the culinary discoveries of Marco Polo! For a recent Experience Encore event, Encore's Sydney team chose to create a unique dining experience using projection mapping to match table content to the meal - it's taking meal pairing to a whole new level! The menu was designed by popular culinary personality, Justine Schofield, and each course had its own unique table design to compliment its theme. Each course had a uniquely themed kinetic light show to match the vibrant and fun personality of the food; the ceviche entrée and matching wine saw tables transformed into a beautiful underwater wonderland. As the second course of sticky beef cheek was announced, the room transformed to reflect a rural kaleidoscope of foliage. The ‘encore’, was a delicious panna cotta which ignited the final animation, a stunning soft pink and white design, wrapped up the culinary experience. The audience were transported on a culinary and sensory journey like no other, incorporating theatrical elements and custom table projection mapping to the food and entertainment. Speak to the experts for projection mapping at your next event For maximum impact, content creators, event planners, and the tech team have to work very closely – table projections have tolerances in the millimetres, and the biggest implementations have pixel counts in the millions! Encore Event Technologies have learnt through practical experience how to make large scale table projection mapping work, and would love to partner with more event planners to create unforgettable experiences. If you are interested in using Table Projection Mapping in your next corporate event, get in touch with the experts today by sending an online enquiry. ... Read More

Organising a stellar event doesn’t always require a big spending. If you’re managing a conference on a shoestring budget, combining the proper amount of technology and ingenuity will result in an event that satisfies your professional endorsers and your attendees whilst also bringing focus to your company’s brand and mission; and the overall purpose of the event. As leaders in event technology and production, Encore Event Technologies are experts in providing event solutions that best meet your event objectives within the given budget. Here are 4 engaging event technologies you can use in corporate events that won't blow the budget. Live Stream Your Event Show event goers that you’re current on modern technology by broadcasting your event on a live stream. Live streaming is the best way to increase your audience reach without the boundaries of physical distance and additional expenses. By eliminating the need for a venue with large seating capacity without losing potential attendees, live stream viewing is an inexpensive and practical solution for event hosts. Time-sensitive content is known to inspire online users to tune in for fear of missing out on valuable content. Streaming live also provides the additional advantage of marketing your feed as an exclusive event made available for a limited time only. “Practically anyone with access to the internet can now provide an HD quality video stream at virtually no cost at all.” – Event Manager Blog Instead of investing in pricey live stream platforms, many event professionals use Facebook Live’s free service or opt for one of Facebook’s low-cost professional streaming options. When broadcasting a live stream for free, ensure that your production is top quality. Invest in the most reliable audio video equipment, and develop a plan that won’t leave room for technical issues that will make your brand seem amateur. Integrate Social Media In Your Events Social media is a major component of brand exposure. Worldwide, more than 2 billion people are using social media to connect with others and share their thoughts. Your goal is to make your event a popular topic of online conversation. Create a truly engaged audience on social media, and you’ll be rewarded with the most effective (and free) form of advertising – word of mouth. Word of mouth advertising happens naturally as attendees share and discuss what they love about your event on their personal social media feeds. At Encore, our Event Feed was inspired by the power of social media and customisation. We believe event organisers should be able to view and share the highlights of social media mentions from one central location while moderating comments and displaying them in order based on preference. Get To Know Your Audience With Live Audience Polling Numerous options are made available through live audience polling for viewers to interact during chats and Q and A sessions. Furthermore, polling during the event saves money and time in comparison to using separate services for data extraction, surveys, and research. Live event polling creates a deeper connection between attendees, speakers, and event organisers. This type of open platform creates transparency and builds more trust in your brand. Current polling technology opens the door to live feedback from all participants. By asking the right questions, live polling gives you the insight you need to better understand how your audience perceives your conference. Similar to live streaming, live polling can be used by event attendees that are physically present and your online audience to boost engagement and keep the focus of viewers. Add Value With An Event App Event apps come with a wide range of options and price points made to accommodate every budget. A worthy event app delivers unique value to event hosts and attendees, combining event information with an interactive interface for ease of use. Apps made specifically for events, like Cumulus, also enhance brand recognition by incorporating company logo, fonts, and colours into the displays of information. Likewise, event audiences should always benefit from downloading the app because it is meant to add clarity to the purpose and structure of the event. Agendas, speaker information, and promotional content can be uploaded for app users to download and share. Your event app should allow you to add live audience polling and videos as well. As a professional conference organiser, you chose your location for good reason. An event app can show and tell the features of the venue, and create a map of the establishment for easier navigation. Create An Engaging And Professional Event Without Breaking The Bank There’s no need to sacrifice quality in favour of cheaper prices. Considering the wide reach of the internet and the advancements of modern technology, you can organise a budget-friendly conference as you connect with a local and global audience. With our industry expertise, Encore Event Technologies helps event hosts to utilise high-quality audio visual services without going beyond their financial limitations. Contact us to find affordable event technology solutions that will generate leads, increase revenue, and engage audiences on a large scale. ... Read More

For devotees of Event Technology there is just no bigger event on the calendar than InfoComm. It is the largest, most exciting industry event in North America focused wholly on the pro-AV industry. It features over 1,000 exhibitors, thousands of new and existing techie products, and sees 44,000 attendees from over 100 countries every year. InfoComm 2018 was held at Las Vegas Convention Center, in Las Vegas, Nevada in the first week of June this year. Our Director of Technology, Andrew MacColl joined Encore’s Global Innovation team at this year’s annual AV geek fest to see what’s hot… and what’s not. The idea of convergence between AV and IT is not new of course but the speed of the trends in IT filtering through to pro-AV is increasing. And of course Cloud is right at the centre of IT innovation currently. All of the things we have already seen from IT tech like Wearables, Big Data and Content Analytics will now cascade into pro-AV. Tools like AI will soon be right at the edge of the network instead of hidden away and the voice activated interfaces will become simpler and more human friendly. AI Chatbots will soon be controlling meeting spaces and meeting technology. Google Voice currently appears to be winning friends in this space much more successfully than Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. At this stage about 70%+ of the manufacturers we spoke to are embracing that platform in the AV space. Pictured: Microsoft and Google stands spotted at InfoComm 2018. Predictions that office workers will have a high functioning digital assistants running a sophisticated voice driven AI by the year 2020 seem more than plausible given where we are up to already. And at this pace safe reliable self-driving cars may be a reality as soon as 2022 and the power of Quantum Computing will give us the next big leap in CPU capability as soon as 2024. How that plays out in the pro-AV space is hard to say exactly but it seems likely that much of the current complexity of AV systems is set to be taken out of the hands of humans and be given to talking, self-learning learning AI. The other big scary trend is the seemingly unstoppable march to higher resolution, bandwidth-hungry display devices driven in part by the need for that industry to have something new to sell. So if you think the likes of Panasonic, Barco, Sony, Apple and Christie will be contend with rolling out 4k devices, think again. HDR (high dynamic range) will be the next ‘big thing’ and unlike 4K resolution will provide a highly visible difference to people viewing the display device. The improvement in dynamic range will deliver a very obviously deeper and richer image quality for video which will be more attractive to the eye of retail consumers and pro AV practitioners alike. Of course this will come at a price. It will need more bandwidth to run a 4K HDR signal down a cable than a standard 4K signal. And if that’s not enough, 8K res, 8K HDR and 8K high refresh rate (120 Hz and 240 Hz) video are all on the drawing boards. Current standard network speeds will go nowhere near the bandwidth requirements of these displays. The display device industry is planning on selling us all a Ferrari,… the trouble is we will have to drive it on a narrow dirt road with potholes if network technology does not keep pace. Or maybe it might be a good time to buy shares in companies that make fibre optic cables! Products in the pipeline All in all InfoComm provided a great insight into what we can expect to see in the near future. Of course we didn’t leave empty handed – there are lots of exciting innovations in our pipeline which you’ll start to see in the near future. This article was written by Andrew MacColl, Head of Procurement and Director of Technology for Encore Event Technologies ANZPAC. ... Read More

Nothing brings an empty function space to life like a custom set design. Working with the theme and identity of the event, the physical limitations of the space, and the functionality needed for the show will bring your creativity to the fore, and ultimately achieve stunning results for your next big night. Custom designing your stage look If you have the ability to custom design your stage set for your gala dinner - you definitely should. However, not everyone has this luxury, as whilst there are many advantages it also tends to be more expensive. In saying that, with the stage being the main focal point of the event and likely to feature in every photo taken, it should definitely take a large piece of the budget pie. You should build a custom set for your gala dinner or awards night because it immediately transports the audience to somewhere new and exciting, grabbing their attention and focussing it onto your presenters and content. The look of your stage communicates your brand, ideas, and values. It could be ‘cutting edge’, pulsing with light and technology, or ‘old world’, oozing luxury from a golden past – whatever suits your goals best. You can literally surround your audience with your stage, bringing them completely into your domain. Pictured: Custom set designed for Amway Taiwan Gala Dinner Where do I get inspiration for my set design? The goal of your set design is to be a branding device for your gala dinner or awards night. Its shapes, colours, structures, and purpose can derive their identity with inspiration from your logo, colour palette, existing marketing material and the theme of the night. Think about what kind of message you are sending – are you rewarding excellence and aspiration at an awards night? Are you celebrating a major milestone at a gala dinner? What kinds of shapes, colours and movements come to you when you think about those subjects? Beyond the conceptual, there’s also the practical nature of your custom set to consider – is there a requirement for lots of performers to enter and exit at once? Will there be a lot a large screens needed for camera feeds of the presenters and video material? What’s physically possible in set design? A stage design doesn’t have to be a flat rectangle, and a custom set doesn’t have to be a variation on a box. Consider multiple shapes and layouts for your stage. You could utilise thrust stages and catwalks, round stages, or a giant central cross with the audience surrounding it for a gala dinner. A set can be a distributed structure with physical elements throughout the venue, or multiple elements that fly in and out, changing through the awards night with the action on stage. Circles can be made with truss, used as rigging for visual elements, or house a screen be projected onto. You can further enhance your set design by incorporating Digital Banners and Widescreens, as well as traditional printed Event Backdrops, rigged and flown. Left: Digital banners hung vertically and each banner can house different projections. Right: Widescreens used in set design. What technical details does a stage design have to consider? All custom set designs need to take in account the venue’s tolerances for weight and height, its capacity to rig and fly any necessary event production equipment, and other all relevant safety issues like access to fire exits. Your set design needs allow lighting fixtures to be rigged so light can be directed where it’s needed. The PA needs to cover the audience for your awards night or gala dinner without interfering with or being obstructed by set elements. Any projectors you are using for image live cameras or video need to be able to cover their targets without hindrance. Consider what is going on your stage to determine the required weight loading when designing your set. How to use screens in your set design Screens are a major consideration in a custom set. Whether for branding, information, video playback or camera feeds of your presenters, they’re likely to be not just prominent, but essential part of your event production. Large projection screens for big venues can be built in to your set, or flown in when needed. On a smaller scale, multiple flat panel displays can be built into sets as an artistic element, and used to display content independently of each other, or together as one large fractured ‘canvas’, using video wall technology. Left: IMAG live feed recording in Widescreen at Rotary International. Right: Vision panels used in set design for Bond University gala dinner. Using lighting as part of your event design Lighting can be more than colours, effects, and highlights; it can also be a feature of the set design itself. There’s a whole family of new LED lighting fixtures that can not only wash a stage with colour, they can be sent videos and animations. Imagine dozens of panels around 30 cm long and 10 cm high embedded throughout your custom set. When dormant, they look like black bars, when activated, they can act together, pulsing and swirling with light. When sent video, their individual LEDs act like the pixels on your TV, with each bar having 12 or more ‘pixels’ in it. This is called ‘pixel mapping’, and adds striking textural effects to your set design. Using projection mapping to animate your custom set You’re not limited to movement and light to create change and interest in your set design – there’s also the ability to project video onto any or all of it. The possibilities with projection in event production are huge, from using multiple projectors to create one giant image across your stage (‘edge blending’), or projecting and warping video onto an object to seemingly animate it into life (‘projection mapping'). Inspiration for projection mapped video content to suit your awards night or gala dinner stems from the same source as the rest of your set – its tone, subject matter, and the theme of the event. Pictured: Projection mapping used for the AHA NSW Gala Dinner stage set. Styling your stage design Set design is all about layering. The final piece of the puzzle is stage set styling. Professional set dressers can provide extra flair to really make your set design ‘pop’. With access to huge collection of props and decorations, they can work with you to make sure your branding is consistent, keeping your signature colours and logos harmonised across both physical media like printed backdrops and digital media such as screens and projections. Pictured: Stage set styling use fleur screen at a gala dinner in Adelaide. Render to Reality – preview your set design Encore can help you throughout the design process for your dream set. Our creatives will be able to show you exactly what your event will look like with our ‘Render to Reality’ service. We use the best CAD and pre-visualisation software available to provide simulated but ultra-realistic three dimensional images of your set in your venue, including animated walk-throughs. This is a 'What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get' principal so no surprises on event day! On the night, what you saw in our studio is exactly what will appear in front of your audience. It’s invaluable peace-of-mind. Left: Render of custom stage set. Right: Real life stage set built according to render. Discover your event stage's potential with our set design team Encore Event Technologies has been designing spectacular stage looks for over 30 years. Whether you want to create a city skyline, an iconic landmark, or bring your logo to life we have the people, the ideas and the tech tools to make it happen. That's why renowned brands like Amway, ANZ, Auto & General and Amway chose to partner with Encore to deliver their gala dinner. With all eyes on your stage for the entire event, it's important you give it the attention it deserves. Find out more about our Set Design services or get in touch with us to see how we can work together for your event. CALL 1800 209 099 or Send an Enquiry ... Read More

Sydney will be put in the spotlight once again later this month for the 10th annual Vivid Sydney. Even if you haven’t experienced Vivid Sydney first-hand, it’s highly likely you’ve seen the mind-blowing images of their signature lighting installations and projections, entertainment and masterclasses, splashed across the news and social media. Originally devised as an engaging way to highlight energy efficiency, Vivid has evolved dramatically in its relatively short 10-year history. The festival is now internationally recognised as a destination in itself, with visitors enjoying a dazzling array of lights, music and intriguing ideas during the three-week program. In 2017, the event saw a record attendance of 2.33 million, with intrastate, interstate and international visitors injecting approximately $110 million into the local economy. There are so many elements of the Vivid festival event planners can learn from and incorporate into their own work, even without Vivid’s grand scale or budget. Be bright and bold Vivid’s bright installations and beautiful animations which are perfectly projection mapped onto iconic buildings enthrals visitors. These effects can be used events both large and small to amaze your guests. You can project onto stage installation and 3D objects using lighting or multimedia and event project direct onto dining tables to take gusts on a visual journey. Gobos are another simple but highly effective way to communicate your brand or theme in a visual way. (Picture Credit: Destination NSW) Creating a theme The Vivid festival remains relevant and engaging by renewing its theme each year. This ensures the event enjoys new and returning visitors year on year. As an event organizer, a well-thought-out theme can anchor your message, whether for a conference, annual meeting, launch event or gal. A theme can reflect the objectives of an event and reflect the purpose. Interactivity At Vivid, visitors are encouraged actively participate with interactive lighting and art installations as well as workshops and seminars encouraging passionate, thought-provoking discussion between presenters and attendees. Encouraging attendees to be part of the event keeps them engaged. Driving engagement can take a number of forms, from taking photos in front of a branded backdrop at a gala and posting photos on social media, to asking questions via a polling platform or completing a quiz on a digital Touch Kiosk screen. Business opportunities Vivid has created opportunities for businesses and tourism operators with exclusive Vivid-themed degustation menus, cruises and special offers. Even big corporates have used it as a platform, in 2016 Intel took to the skies of Sydney Harbour with a fleet of LED-lit drones to showcase their latest technology in an engaging way. If you event has a sponsor, it’s a great opportunity for them to showcase their brand or products. If they do it in an engaging way that integrates with the event the benefits can be far greater than just playing a dull corporate video at the start of the event, or using pull up banners in the entrance. Social Media Social media has also been instrumental in taking Vivid Sydney to a world-wide audience. It’s a great illustration of how ‘brand Sydney’ is reaching a global audience and enticing both domestic and international visitors to come to our stunning city. Encourage your attendees to share the event via their social channels is a great way to take your event to a wider audience. Ensure you create and share an event’s hashtag and use products like Event Feed to unite your attendees’ photos on screen. Working in an event services company, we understand that conceptualising an event begins with a blank canvas that we grow into colourful experiences to surprise and delight attendees. What Vivid Sydney has done so well is create a visually, musically and intellectual engaging event, that keeps attendees coming back each year and communicates the message – Sydney is fun, beautiful and innovative. Be inspired to make your own Vivid-like experience by viewing our Recent Work ... Read More

Getting people to attend your conference is one, if not the biggest, challenge event planners face. It's the whole reason you're organising the event and attendance numbers are one the biggest factors determining its success. Once you have them there, the real challenge facing planners is to keep your audiences engaged. At most conferences, seminars and exhibitions, attendees go from session to session listening to speakers and hopefully participating in discussions. Want to make your presentation the one that they can’t stop talking about? Create a presentation deck that will be remembered by incorporating thoughtful design into your slides. Whether it's intriguing your audience to continue the conversation or inspiring questions, think about the desired results and design slides to achieve that. What’s the easiest way to awesome? Elevate the creative quality of your presentation and reach your audience more effectively by incorporating these three principals for great presentation design. Be straightforward with your presentation design Establish yourself as a thought leader by designing slides that eliminate the fluff and get straight to the point. Remember that more words does not equal stronger content. Instead, focus on strategically crafted words on each slide and killer speaker notes. Convey your message in a variety of ways by telling a story through design elements. The right combination of colours, graphics, and layout will reinforce your message and resonate with your audience on a visual level. Make your presentation interactive and entertaining Attendees want to be entertained, but they also want to interact and be a part of the experience. Challenge your audience by designing a presentation that provokes questions and makes them think creatively about the content and messaging. Break through the noise and give your audience a reason to pay attention by surprising them with hidden content and making the session an interactive experience. Try using touch screen presentation technology (like Inteli-Touch) to turn a one-way lecture into a two-way conversation, or integrating live audience polling (such as Event Poll) for Q&As, surveys, feedback and more. You can also incorporate an event social media platform (via Event Feed) into your presentation to encourage spreading the message and amplifying your events reach even further. Inspire your audience to seek new information, jump into action, or try something new. Include unexpected videos and imagery to keep them on their toes Design a presentation that delivers what audiences expect, but shows them something new visually. Combine the obvious answer with an unexpected graphic or video to highlight innovative, out-of-the-box thinking. The combination of the two will grab their attention and expand their imagination. Mixing your content with different designs, such as bold colours, interesting images, amusing videos, stunning graphics, and maybe even a bit of humour will force audiences to think about the content in a new way. Naturally, this is said with taking your audience demographics into consideration. Make sure what you include is relevant and appropriate for who your aiming to engage. Get some ideas from the conference experts Thanks to innovations in audio visual solutions and event technologies this can be an exciting and virtually limitless operation. However, the grander the idea, the more costly it is to execute. That's why when it comes to organising a conference getting the speakers right and their presentations should be high priority and the rest can be bonuses to really amp up the experience. Encore Event Technologies (formerly Staging Connections) have helped countless conference planners deliver high impact experiences just using a creative presentation displayed on an engaging stage set with ambient lighting and AV for theatrics. Speak to us today to start formulating ideas about how you can make your next presentation the one everyone talks about! Get in touch with us today or find out more about our conference production services ... Read More

If you haven’t been to a conference in a few years you’re in for a big surprise. These once stiff, white-collared, corporate events are changing, and have seriously raised the bar on everything from styling to attendee engagement. ‘Engagement’ has been the buzz word for event planners and marketers for some time now. It has permeated every communication channel as companies look to create new and exciting experiences. Events have become the perfect playing field to really engage audiences and give companies a direct connection with their consumers. Those companies that invest, pave the way for a more enriching and memorable experience for their customers and are likely to turn them into lifelong advocates. The next question then becomes, how are companies turning their conference into an invigorating and unique experience? Read on to learn more about six of the hottest corporate event trends this year. 1. 2 Venues, 1 Location One of the most costly expenses in event planning is venue hire. Over the past few decades we've seen conference venue trends do a full circle. In the 80's and 90's it was all about hosting your conference in big hotel ballrooms, followed by some polite small talk and canapés at the post event drinks in some non-descript location just outside the conference room. Coming into the new millennium, conference planners were getting creative and hosting conferences in unique venues or utilising multiple venues to suit each section of the day. These 'hybrid' events would typically host the information-rich agenda in a hotel meeting space after which attendees were then directed to a unique venue for the informal networking part of the event. Whilst this 'hybrid' event is still very popular and provides attendees with a great experience, it isn't the most cost-effective way to host a corporate event. We're now experiencing a convergence of these two trends, where event planners choose a hotel venue that has enough variety in its meeting spaces to mimic the split locations whilst remaining in the one venue. Instead of relying on a new venue to inject interest, event planners are turning to new immersive-themed rooms and styling to do the heavy lifting. Why this works: It goes without saying hiring one venue instead of two is a massive cost-saving already. Using two spaces within the one hotel and investing in theming and styling is a great way to ensure you’re giving guests the best environment for each agenda whilst maximising your budget. Hotel meeting spaces give you the AV support and space needed to deliver your key messages and support your speakers. Once the formalities are over, your guests can move to another space within the venue for the next section of the conference whether that be a sit-down gala dinner or styled cocktail event. Encore Event Technologies recently delivered the annual conference for one of Australia's largest professional services organisation. Part of the brief was to deliver an exceptional formal conference experience for 300 employees as well as a unique and spectacular gala dinner post conference. To maximise the budget, Encore Event Technologies used Hilton Sydney's ballroom to host the main conference agenda. Once the conference conclude, guests were ushered out into a beautifully styled holding room for cocktails and canapés while the Encore Event Technologies team transformed the conference room into a fully immersive 'Vintage Carnival' themed gala dinner complete with live circus acts and interactive carnival booths. Immersive, 'Vintage Carnival' themed conference delivered by Encore Event Technologies at Hilton Sydney. This is a win-win both the brand and the guests. It creates a lasting impression on attendees, which is key to continuous attendance and conference longevity. 2. Design Immersive Conferences Gone are the days of a stuffy ballroom, lined with endless rows of chairs and a small stage. Corporate conferences are turning to styled, immersive themes to ramp up the atmosphere, provide talking points and truly immerse guests in their brand. After all, events are one of the only occasions a brand has an uninterrupted interaction with their target market. So they’d better make the most of it. We’ve mentioned Immersive Events in previous styling trend reports and they’re fiercely becoming the norm for corporate events. If you’re not adopting this new event planning mindset, you’re in danger of being left behind. Immersive Events are where styling, audio visual, digital, staging and design services merge into one harmonious environment. It’s about using these services in combination to truly transform your event into a branded experience. Why this works: A conference is the ultimate marketing event for a company. Whether it’s a corporate, training, education, or a sales conference, organisations need planners to design events that build brand loyalty and drive advocacy. Effectively branding an event builds attendee engagement that translates into increased connection. In addition, aligning your message with a theme provides a tangible vehicle to carry your message across all touch points. From the invites, to the entrance, room decor, multimedia content and post event communications. For example, we recently worked with Capital S.M.A.R.T. for their annual sales conference. The objective of the conference was to recognise the company’s achievements of doubling their revenue celebrate their 7th anniversary and set the direction for 2017. Therefore, it was very fitting for the conference theme to be 007 Bond. This theme was integrated into every aspect and became the creative ‘glue’ that tied everything into one cohesive message. Encore Event Technologies delivered an immersive '007' event theme for Capital S.M.A.R.T.'s annual sales conference. 3. Encourage Attendee Engagement Our third corporate event trend we’re seeing in 2015 and which will definitely become common place in 2016 is attendee engagement – that ‘engagement’ buzzword again. This means event planners are actively seeking new strategies and technologies to encourage two-way conversations with attendees, driving participation and building a positive brand experience rather than asking them to sit and listen for hours on end. Increasing engagement can come in a variety of forms. Today’s event planners are ditching PowerPoint slides for total engagement activities such as live social feeds, video conferencing, audience polling, on-site bloggers, event-specific apps, event hashtags and much more. Why this works: Encouraging your attendees to participate and share ideas results in a much richer experience for your guests and allows event hosts to unearth insights and gain valuable feedback that mightn't have been possible without the audience participation. Increasing engagement translates into better overall experiences. By becoming active participants, attendees are more likely to gain knowledge and skills than by simply being spectators. Encore Event Technologies' audience live-polling platform, Event Poll. 4. WOW with High-Tech Events are the perfect playground for showing off your brand and wow-ing guests with the latest technology. When it comes to creating truly unique and personalised experiences, technology is your best friend. Having free Wi-Fi is no longer a nice add-on, it’s an expectation. So what are conference organisers turning to surprise and delight their attendees: Event apps featuring presentation and workshop schedules Real-time social media integration on-screen In-app scheduling and communication capabilities GPS event locator and navigation assistance On-demand video feeds and special keynote webcasts Live audience polling and contests Personalised push notifications (think meeting agenda or announcements) Real-time language translations Even projection mapping was used at recent Aussie Home Loans Sales Conference we produced to add a huge wow-factor to their event. Why this works: Technology bridges the gap between the event and the individual guest experience. Utilising event apps and social media allows you to effectively communicate to your guests and provide instant updates. Technology and innovative audio-visual solutions provide a cost-effective solution for engaging and create last impressions. 5. Build an Event Community Brands invest huge amounts of their marketing budget into growing and nurturing a solid community of brand advocates. It therefore makes perfect sense to treat events as a sub-brand which has its own community where people with common interests and likes come together. Building this fan-base takes a lot of time and effort and has changed the life-cycle of the traditional event. It’s no longer just the event day itself, event planners need to consider the journey months before the event, the event itself, and then post-event follow ups and content. The overarching objective? Keeping their audience engaged and coming back year after year. Your event hype plan usually starts with creating the necessary channels and touch points where your community can grow and interact. The heavy weights here are an event Facebook page, YouTube / Vimeo channel for your video content, Instagram and Twitter account and a dedicated branded event hashtag. Utilising these channels to house engaging content provides you with a cohesive platform to keep your event community engaged throughout the event life-cycle. A great strategy for growing your event community is to use a social media integration platform. We’ve included Event Feed as part of our digital portfolio for this exact reason – it captures your event’s entire social conversation across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter via a dedicated hashtag and displays them instantly on screen for all to see. Why this works: Positive word-of-mouth is the holy grail of marketing. If you can create and sustain a dedicated community of enthusiasts for your event, you are tapping into a rich source of insights, free advertising and invaluable instant feedback. In the past, event planners would rely on paid advertising to promote the event and would only be able to review all event happenings weeks after the event ended to learn what was successful and what wouldn't be used next year. Event Feed used at this years Tourism Australia, Destination Australia Conference. 6. Embrace Green Events Going ‘green’ isn't just a phenomenon we’re experiencing in the food and beverage industry. Companies that demonstrate they’re environmentally conscious are also reaping the benefits of positive brand operations. This year we’re seeing a lot of corporate events taking on a ‘local, organic and sustainable’ approach to their event planning. This mindset is being adopted across every possible facet of the event, from environmentally conscious AV and staging processes, down to local and organic catering, as well as using recycled and sustainable materials to design, communicate and run the event. Why this works: In some cases, going ‘green’ can be very profitable as people are generally happy to forgo higher quality / luxuries for the sake of being environmentally conscious – think recycled paper, more efficient energy and recycling processes, cardboard chairs etc. Aside from the obvious benefits of a demonstrating corporate social responsibility, it allows companies to build relationships with new audiences via this common interest and strengthen ties with existing customers. The corporate event scene is experiencing a huge overhaul. Audiences demand interaction, immersion and innovation. The great thing is, it’s being driven by a common need to discover and improve ways to engage audiences and communicate the event message effectively. This means, it’s a landscape that is forever changing. When organising your next event, make sure you consider these 6 trends to ensure you’re conference is hitting the mark and ensuring the longevity of your event. Interested in hosting your next event with Encore? Get in touch with us today and let's make it happen! ... Read More